STOCKS SLIDE, OIL ENTERS BEAR MARKET: Here's what you need to know

Stocks closed lower for a third straight day, in a week that's
seen mixed company earnings. After reaching their highs of the
day in late-morning trading, the major indices continued to drift
lower into the market close. Crude oil fell into a bear market.

First, the scoreboard:

Dow:17,731.92,
-119.12, (-0.67%)

S&P
500:2,102.15, -12.00,
(-0.57%)

Nasdaq:5,146.41,
-25.36, (-0.49%)

And now, the
top stories on Thursday:

Initial
jobless claims sank to the lowest level since November 24,
1973. Claims for unemployment insurance fell by 26,000 to
255,000. Richard Nixon was president the last time claims were
this low. The four-week average, which softens volatility, fell
4,000 to 278,500.

The jobless claims data coincides with the survey week for
the July employment report, and economists expect
August jobs day to be huge. "Nonfarm payrolls increased a
sturdy 254k in May, and the latest claims figures suggest that
July nonfarm payrolls, released on August 7, will rise 235k
[from 223k in June]," wrote Deutsche Bank's Joe LaVorgna in a
note to clients. "The decline in jobless claims tells us that
the unemployment rate, currently 5.3%, will continue to move
lower."

Crude oil has plunged into a
bear market. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell
more than 1% to settle near $48.55 per barrel in New York.
Compared to recent highs, oil is now down 20% – the rough
definition of a bear market. Oil inventory data this week
showed that stockpiles continue to build.

Commodities are getting crushed across the board.
Copper fell to a six-year low, and Goldman Sachs analysts
forecast continued weakness as Chinese demand falters. Iron-ore
prices recently tanked, and gold is far from rebounding after
Sunday's flash crash.

According to Caterpillar, "the global economy remains
relatively stagnant." In its second-quarter earnings
results released this morning, the manufacturer of construction
and manufacturing equipment noted that other than a "modestly
positive" outlook for the US, many parts of the world including
China, the Eurozone, and Brazil are not holding up well. The
company is considered a bellwether of economic activity because
of the enormous projects its products are used in.

Nikkei is buying the
Financial Times for £844 million ($1.3
billion.) Pearson, the FT's owners, confirmed this in a
statement after German publisher Axel Springer refuted reports
that it was a possible buyer. "We’ve reached an inflection
point in media, driven by the explosive growth of mobile and
social," Pearson said. "In this new environment, the best way
to ensure the FT’s journalistic and commercial success is for
it to be part of a global, digital news company." Nikkei is a
Japanese financial newspaper.

McDonald's final release of its same-store sales numbers
was ugly. With quarterly results, the fast food chain said
global sales at stores open for more than one year (or
same-store sales) fell 0.7%, "reflecting negative guest traffic
in all major segments."